The Best Picture of 1945 has lost none of its bite or power in this uncompromising look at the devastating effects of alcoholism. Ironically, this brilliant Billy Wilder film was almost never released because of poor reaction by preview audiences unaccustomed to such stark realism from Hollywood, but the film has since gone on to be regarded as one of the all-time great dramas in movie history. Ray Milland's haunting portrayal of would-be writer's dissatisfaction with his life leads him on a self-destructive three-day binge. Filled with riveting imagery, the multiple Academy Award-winner offers an unforgettable view of life on the edge.
Directed by
Billy Wilder
Written by
Charles R. Jackson (novel) Charles Brackett (screenplay) and Billy Wilder (screenplay)
Starring
Ray Milland (Don Birnam); Jane Wyman (Helen St. James); Phillip Terry (Wick Birnam); Howard Da Silva (Nat, Bartender); Doris Dowling (Gloria); Frank Faylen ('Bim' Nolan, Male Nurse); Mary Young (Mrs. Deveridge, Birnem's Landlady); Anita Sharp-Bolster (Mrs. Foley, Cleaning Lady (as Anita Bolster)); Lillian Fontaine (Mrs. Charles St. James (as Lilian Fontaine)); Frank Orth (Opera Cloak Room Attendant); Lewis L. Russell (Charles St. James). Please contact SFC to add other cast members and characters.
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Readers' Comments and Opinions
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A much-needed film with a positive message
Mark Banks (United Kingdom)
Opinion: Recommended
I thought The Lost Weekend was a good film. The story isn't always easy to watch but then again for a film about a man battling alcoholism, it many ways it shouldn't be. The important thing is that there is a strong message of hope and a way forward given at the end of it all. This is in stark contrast to some of Hollywood's more recent offerings such as the melancholic, depressive spiral of Leaving Las Vegas. Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan's When a Man Loves a Woman is one of only a few other films that I can think of that have also ventured into this territory - though largely to an unenthusiastic reception unfortunately. The Lost Weekend is also strong on visual imagery and in that sense quite Biblical in its representation of the battle against evil. For an addiction that causes so much pain, suffering, hurt and loss I can only pray that a contemporary producer comes along and makes an equally redemptive film on the subject sooner or later.
